Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Within the last busy week the central Illinois weather turned from mildly unpleasant to downright bitter. Instead of watery dew covering the grass in the morning, today we woke up to a thick layer of frost! My animated impatiens gifted to me by the lovely B. Gorrell in May, met their demise and the leaves on our Little Henrys loosened by turning Autumn red last week, have drifted into the neighbor’s yard. I feel winter all around me... my mom and I dream of moving to Florida and sticking our toes in the sand. Because I have been so busy with work I have hardly noticed the change in weather... other than having to wear scarves and pack sweaters for my trips to Chicago.This weekend my parents came to visit bearing two oak trees to plant in our yard. We tried to calculate the optimum location. One ended up in the front yard just west of the house and the other was placed west of the patio in the back. Sitting on the couch in the living room you can see the bright red leaves peaking through the South facing window. In 25 years, we'll have shade. I hope the future inhabitants of this modest abode will love them as much as I do. They also brought our new antique desk for the office. I can't wait to get to work on it so my craft room/office can be completed. I look forward to the day that it will be the resting place for the mac that I don't own.

My talented mom helped me finish the curtains in the kitchen. I am amazed at how much better they look. I wish I could pilfer her know-how sometimes... my projects would be finished much sooner with a lot less headache. But like she likes to remind me, "I don't know how many times I took stitches out before learning the correct way to do it." I guess I wouldn’t learn a thing if I didn’t mess up every once in awhile.In 25 years, our friend Brent will be 51. Last Saturday, his lovely wife Amy threw him a surprise party. He really was surprised and we all had such a great time. We headed out bowling where Matt and I had a combined score of 140-something. Sorry to out you babe. Anyway, a big fat iyay! for cosmic bowling. Some of the pictures turned out awesome.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

The last two weeks at the Anderson domicile has been less than conventional, in fact I haven’t spent much of my time there at all.I have journeyed to the far reaches of Illinois and back again mostly for my job, intertwined with a little pleasure.Ordinarily I enjoy traveling but to tell you the truth I am straight up exhausted and we have 2 more weeks of testing!The workdays are packed with running around trying to help users test our awful wonderful HR system built by the U of I, reporting bugs, and leading sessions.AHHH…. And on top of that Izzy has digressed in her potty training and has started to poop all over our house.We are linking this to her stay at the Kennel a couple of weekends ago… or she is just mad at us.I mean come on she has been potty trained for MONTHS!!!!It’s the perfect gift for me to clean up when I come home from a business trip.

On a brighter note….

Since I worked in Springfield Monday and Tuesday this week I headed to my parents house on Sunday after church to take Kellen’s 2 year pictures.I think I got some REALLY cute ones!I am really excited to get started on them.I will post some on my photo blog soon.My mom decided to have a weenie roast in the secret garden for her side of the family Sunday night. It was a great excuse to see family and enjoy the awesome fall weather.Here are a few shots from my trip home excluding the Kellen pictures.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." - George EliotWhen I think about fall, I dream of hooded sweatshirts, evenings of carving pumpkins while sipping on hot apple cider, and spending time with wonderful friends. This weekend: all of the above accomplished.Friday night Brent and Amy came to the Anderson abode to partake in some Fallish activities. We ate pumpkin bars (courtesy of Amy) and apple pie. It was my first one using real apples instead of the easy apple pie filling. It turned out o.k. besides NOT being able to get it out of the pan. It was Amy's first time carving a pumpkin so it was quite the treat. We even cooked up the pumpkin seeds to munch on and sipped on hot apple cider in my favorite Halloween mugs. The jack-o-lanterns turned out awesome and I am pretty sure mine is very happy abiding on my front porch.Thank for a magical evening Amy and Brent!

On Saturday Matt and I headed down to Southern Illinois for a friends baby shower AND to hang with friends/family. It was the first time we boarded Izzy which was pretty stressful. I constantly thought about her all cooped up in a cage. Us country folk aren't used to that. Anyway, besides that the weekend was AWESOME. I got to see almost all of my college friends which was SUCH a delight. Here is "us" and the mom-to-be. Can't wait till baby Chloe comes along in December!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction." Proverbs 1:7

I am a daily blog reader. Among the many blogs I read I would say more than half are written by LDS (Mormon) women. Why you ask? Because these women are incredible: beautiful, kind, incredible writers, strong, talented (wow are they talented), athletic, loving of their families, creative, well read, business minded... Even more than that, I seem to be interested in many of the same things as them. When I am in a creative rut I often look to these particular bloggers for some refreshing ideas (hence my Halloween fabric banner). Honestly I think we'd be friends... if I lived in Utah.But as much as I have come to love and appreciate these women and their blogs, they and others who follow Mormonism, are wolves who mean to destroy the truth that comes from the Holy Bible and inundate our world with lies. Since the General Conference was just last weekend many of my blogging friends have been discussing the topics.Let's put it this way...If I were to invent a religion, Mormonism would DEFINITELY be it.

I would have strong moral convictions.

I could be sealed to my family for all of eternity and then my husband would become a God of his own planet and I would get to populate it with spirit children.

I'd have a living/breathing prophet, along with 12 apostles, telling me how to live by way of revelation (at a conference twice a year).

My works of service would be revered and would gain me a better spot in the celestial kingdom.

If I chose not to follow God in my earthly life, I would get the chance to in the afterlife... "individuals who died without accepting the Latter-day Saints' Gospel and no longer possess the physical body required for baptism are represented by living proxies, thereby granting them the opportunity to join their families in the celestial kingdom."

All people would live for eternity and "Those who choose not to follow our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will receive a reward according to what they have done in this life, but they will not enjoy the glory of living in the presence of God."

I mean continual revelation is where it's at right? Doctrine that continually changes based on whatever prophet is in charge, or whatever state law prohibits. This was the case with plural marriage.My question is this... how would you know how to live your life if there is no reference in which these prophets speak? Their is no checking with scripture to ensure they are right and that their revelations are truly given by God... but here is the kicker.The late LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley said "We are Christians in a very real sense and that is coming to be more and more widely recognized. Once upon a time people everywhere said we are not Christians. They have come to recognize that we are, and that we have a very vital and dynamic religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ."

But after listening to this sermon I have the courage to shoot the wolves because I love the sheep. I pray for the Mormons out there that they will know the truth.

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God's work—which is by faith. - 1 Timothy 1:3-4

Friday, October 3, 2008

Since October is my favorite month of the year i decided to deck my fireplace with Halloween goodies. My sewing machine has gotten quite the work out lately! Now all I have to do is curl up on the couch with some hot apple cider and watch Bedknobs and Broomsticks. I hope your October is FANTASTIC... I am hoping mine is.

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About Me

iving in Champaign, Illinois with my husband, our beautiful daughter Ruby Evangeline and a crazy poodle named Izzy.
During my time as a photography student at Southern Illinois University, my professors instilled in me a desire to settle for nothing less than perfection in every photograph. With that desire in hand, I am now pursuing my dream to become a portrait photographer.
I love to layer texture and pattern in my photographs while maintaining the integrity, personality and natural beauty of my subject.
The Lord has blessed me beyond belief and I love to make all things in life beautiful.